Praedicator

Verba

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - Tuesday in the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

[1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 and Mark 7:1-13]

"Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!" [1 Kings]

From the very outset of its creation, the temple in Jerusalem was a controversial topic. There was more than a building involved, but the building itself required tremendous taxation and labor which were both very unpopular and weakened Solomon's kingdom, which he had inherited from his father, David. David had managed to centralize all worship and power in one place - Jerusalem! The inevitable effects of centralization include the establishment of a "system" of power and all the apparatus and ideological "support" to maintain it. In Jesus' day, the temple had been newly renovated by Herod the Great in an effort to consolidate his support as a Roman puppet ruler. The expense and effort took more than 40 years, and would last only till 70AD when the Romans crushed the First Jewish Revolt.
The "system" that I referred to involved the Jerusalem priestly aristocracy (the Saduccees) and the scribes (legal experts) and Pharisees (zealous observants) and those who supported Herod's power (the Herodians). We see references to them throughout the gospels. Jesus attacks these people on the level of their manipulation of the Mosaic Law to favor their own agendas (human traditions). The temple became a principal symbol of their power and Jesus' action in "cleansing the temple" was the event that led to his death through their plotting. Anyone who claimed to replace the temple with his own person would be a powerful threat.
There is much in this for us "modern" Catholics to ponder. The benefits of a central unifying point in our faith - Rome and the Papacy - are considerable. But the apparatus required to maintain that unity and global communion can be controversial. The Eastern rites of the Church (let alone the Orthodox communities) view that centralization with great suspicion. Many bishops (who rightly consider themselves "successors to the apostles") resent the interference of the "curia" in Rome in their diocesan affairs. The list could go on and on. Those who have a "stake" in the current historical manifestation of church power will unquestionably resist any erosion of that power. But lest we judgmentally point the finger at Rome, we would do well to pay attention to the dioceses and parishes that may simply replicate the problems on a more regional and local level! We do need our institutional structures and our "churches." We also need to continually discern our motives and ways of using those to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ! AMEN